Short Humor Fic
by NarutosBrat
Summary: inspired by Pink's just like a pill
1. Chapter 1

Naruto wanted out. He'd been in this room, in this bed for far too long, and he was already feeling the restless effects of being cooped up for too long. Not only that, but the medical staff here really didn't like him a whole lot. He had a feeling from some of the looks, that they'd inject him with something horrible if they had the chance, and could get away with it. Sure, there were a handful of nurses that liked him, but some of them scared him even more than the ones that didn't like him. They were way more nice to him than proper, and sometimes got touchy and grabby while giving him looks that girls used to give Sasuke; like they knew something about him that he didn't.

Naruto hated the hospital...okay, so he didn't hate the hospital, as he didn't like the word hate. Hatred led to stupid, and stupid led to people like Sasuke and Orochimaru. Naruto frowned. It had been a week since the retrieval, and things had been really crazy since then. He just knew that Sakura hated him; the fact that she hadn't come to visit him was proof of that. Not only that, but everyone probably thought he was weak again because he hadn't been able to bring that bastard back. And the worst part about it was that he couldn't do anything about it...okay maybe that was second, as the worst thing was the major lack of ramen.

As boredom crept in on him, Naruto sat back with a huff. Turning his head to the small desk next to him, Naruto spotted the scroll, and the rather crude looking seal drawn upon it. Ero-Sennin had showed him how to seal things in scrolls, and even left him some things to practice with, but he'd gotten the gist of it rather quickly, and was once again bored. He shouldn't be sitting in a hospital bed doing nothing, he should have been out training, getting stronger so he could bring Sasuke back; so he could keep his promise to Sakura-chan. Baachan had told him to stay until he was discharged, even though he'd been completely healed by the next day. What Naruto didn't know, was that he wasn't being kept due to any physical injury, more like observation to make sure he hadn't suffered any psychological trauma from losing his friend to the job whether by death or defection. She'd seen what that could do to someone first hand, on both accounts.

His thoughts were derailed when a Chuunin Medic entered the room with a scowl on her face.

"Alright brat, I have to check your vitals, so shut up, sit still, and don't disturb me." She spat, earning a glare from the blond. Still, Naruto cooperated. He'd seen what medics were capable of with Baachan and that teme Kabuto, and he didn't want to make her mad at him...not right now, at least. Once he got stronger, he was going to show them all who was boss.

As the mean lady left the room, Naruto gave her the finger, gaining a small sense of vindication. He was getting fed up at the way he was being treated by the hospital staff, and his dislike of being cooped up, and not allowed to train was making things ten times worse. It took another half hour (which for Naruto felt like a month), before Naruto couldn't take it anymore, and he finally snapped. He was getting out of here, no matter what anyone said. Besides, it's not like they would miss him all that much, seeing as they'd only been in to check on him once since he'd been there.

Climbing out of bed, Naruto began searching the room for some clothes, thankfully finding some of his things in the closet. It wasn't much, but a pair of shorts, a tee-shirt, and some sandals were better than nothing. Naruto quickly dressed, and rolled up the scroll that he'd been practicing with. As he was about to climb out the window, Naruto paused. Maybe he should leave a note for Baachan, so that she wouldn't worry. Ero-Sennin said she got weird when she worried, and tended to get smushie and punchy. Sitting at the desk, he opened, and tore off a blank section of the scroll, and wrote a note to Tsunade. Little did he know that his note would cause her more worry than not leaving one at all. Once he was done, he snuck out the window, and took off across the rooftops.

Naruto reached his apartment in record time, and began packing away everything he'd need for his training trip; namely his ramen supply, his shinobi equipment, and his training scrolls from the Academy (well the ones that Mizuki hadn't given him). Ten minutes later would find Naruto standing in his apartment, saying his farewells (best you don't ask).

Creating a squad of clones to throw off his trail while he made his escape (cuz he knew baachan would put him right back in the hospital, and make him stay even longer), Naruto grabbed his plant, Fern-chan, headed out the door, and locked it. Naruto made a quick pit stop at Iruka's- using the spare key he'd been told about- leaving his plant in the living room where Iruka would be able to find it. Finding something to write with, he left a note for his favorite teacher to look after his plant while he was gone. After that was done, he exited the small apartment, replaced the key, and was on his way to his destination for the next month; since that's how long his ramen supply would last before he had to come back and refill.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a nurse by the name of Kaori Tachigawa was headed to the room of one Naruto Uzumaki. She was one of the few nurses on staff who didn't hold a grudge against the boy. As a matter of fact, she was one of the few people in the village who knew what Naruto held, who put it there, and exactly why it was put there. Having known the boy's mother- her elder brother had been one of the boisterous woman's teammates- she knew of Naruto's impressive lineage. She'd volunteered for the job of letting him know that he was being cleared to leave, and that either his sensei would be along with a change of clothes for him shortly. The way his face lit up everytime made her feel warm inside. If only she were about ten years younger.

She was also one of the ones, who having given the boy a chance, couldn't help but be drawn by his bubbly personality. While she never liked the reasons for his frequent visits as a child (she was rather glad when Sandaime-sama began enforcing his law with extreme prejudice), she especially liked when she had to give him his baths while he was there; he was so adorable and funny when he was being shy. While many would call her overly paranoid, she was one of a small coalition who'd always feared Naruto was a serious flight risk, and had always told Sarutobi that she thought Naruto might run away if all the hatred continued.

Unfortunately for Naruto, it would be just this particular paranoid nurse who found his note. Picking it up, and sighing- for she knew Tsunade-sama would be furious that he'd been allowed to escape.

Kaori started feeling light-headed as she finished the note. The very thing that she'd feared would happen, had actually come to pass. Now she two choices. First, she could faint, and it would be who knows how long before she woke, or someone else found the note- possibly someone who would see it as good news- and give Naruto-kun an even bigger head start. Second, she could do what she could to make sure that word got to Tsunade-sama as quickly as possible. That was a difficult choice, but she made it in the end. Kaori Tachigawa let out an ear piercing shriek, before her eyes rolled, and she keeled over backwards.

Seconds later, several masked shinobi had arrived on scene to find the woman sprawled on the floor, the note nearby. One of the shinobi saw the note, picked it up, read it aloud, and let out a loud curse.

"Naruto is gone." She said, before directing one of the others to go get the Hokage. "Everyone else, alert the others, and being a search." Lifting her mask, the violet haired kunoichi had to force back the tears that wanted to form at her eyes. She'd been a part of his Anbu guard along with Kakashi, Tenzo, and Hayate while he'd been at the Academy, and had grown fond of the boy. She just knew this was going to be a cluster fuck of a disaster.

888

Tsunade came barrelling into the room, nearly taking out a meter of wall as she did so.

"What's this about Naruto running away?" Tsunade's eyes went into her hairline as Neko shakily handed her the note.

_Tsunade-baachan,_

_Hopefully by the time you see this, I'll be long gone. Sorry for leaving like this baachan, but I couldn't take it any longer. The people here never liked me because of Kyuubi, and I sometimes don't think they will no matter what I do. You know why I had to get stronger, and I couldn't wait for Ero-Sennin to decide he wants to train me, so I decided to go out on my own. Besides, it's not like anyone here will miss me all that much, considering no one ever came to check on me._

_Naruto_

"Kami no." She said, tears forming in her eyes. "How? Why? He never seemed like he was depressed before."

"If I may, Hokage-sama." A male voice said from behind a mask. "It could be that the defection of Sasuke Uchiha has had a bigger impact on him than we thought. In this vulnerable state, the normal things that normally don't effect him are having a larger effect on him."

"Neko, send out the summoning hawk." Tsunade ordered, running through the seals for summoning. "I want very ninja in the village with a summon or partner capable of tracking in my office in ten minutes. Bear, you go get Kakashi personally, we can't afford for him to be late this time. Tell him he'll be demoted to Academy ninjutsu training if he's a second late. Katsuyu, bring me Jiraiya, I don't care how or where you find him." Without another word, Tsunade left the hospital.

888

Tsunade sat behind her desk waiting for the summoned ninja, when a frantic swirl of leaves announced the arrival of one Kakashi Hatake.

"You're early Kakashi." Tsunade jibed, sure that even with her ultimatum, he'd be just barely on time.

"What's this about Naruto being missing?" He asked, without preamble. Tsunade had her answer about his promptness.

"In a moment," She said, sliding Naruto's note to him. "Read this, and I'll explain everything once the others arrive."

Kakashi did as told, reading quickly, and waiting impatiently for the others to arrive. He was just about to create some Shadow Clones to hasten who they were waiting for, when he remembered that he didn't know who had been sent for. Luckily, his wait ended a moment later as the door opened, and several shinobi entered. First came Shibi Aburame, followed by Hana and Tsume Inuzuka, Anko Mitarashi, Asuma Sarutobi, Yuugao Uzuki, and Hiashi Hyuuga. The sudden appearance of Jiraiya's chakra signature on the window sill signalled that he'd been there longer than he himself had.

"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Shibi asked, his monotone questioning. It still amazed people how the clan could create different intonations and expressions in such a bland monotone. "I also notice that everyone here is a tracker of some sort."

"Naruto has gone missing." She said. "He left a note explaining why he felt he had to leave. Apparently, even someone like Naruto will eventually crack. He's gotten it into his head that because of the Kyuubi, no one wants him around, and that it would be better off if he left. Not only that, but there is also a threat to his life from an organization hunting the biju sealed into him. He needs to get stronger, but he doesn't seem to want to wait around for Jiraiya to stop peeping long enough to help with that." She sent a glare to her teammate, and softened it seeing his already dejected countenance.

"I'm not sure how long he has been gone, but I want him found, and brought home." Tsunade said, an almost growl to her voice. "You three are the best trackers this village has to offer," She said turning to Shibi, Hana, and Tsume, "-your summons are exceptional at tracking," Here she turned to Kakashi and Anko, "and your summons have experience finding Naruto when he's hiding." Here she turned to Yuugao and Asuma, "-Hiashi, the range of your Byakugan is rumored to be able to span nearly the entire village. Do not fail me. Dismissed!" The shinobi disappeared.

"I'm going to go talk to Gamabunta and Fukasaku to see if they can track him via the toad contract." Jiraiya said, before he too disappeared.

8888

An hour and a half later, the summoned shinobi had returned, looking dejected. Theyd' come up empty handed, and all were feeling somewhat dejected about it. Shibi and Tsume were disappointed, because they'd been unable to perform their duty, knowing how much it meant to the Hokage. Asuma and Yuugao had known the boy for nearly all his life through their familial and work relationships with the Sandaime Hokage, and were fond of him. Kakashi felt as if he'd completely failed; not only Naruto as a sensei, but his own sensei in not doing more. Hiashi, most of all, was feeling the disappointment. He knew how much this was going to effect his daughter, and truly hated having to tell her that her crush was missing.

"Report!" Tsunade ordered harshly, taking in their looks, and a lack of Naruto.

"Well, we started at the hospital, where everything started, and found that he'd used the window to escape. We followed the scent to his apartment, hoping that we might get lucky..." Kakashi paused here.

"And?" Tsunade pressed, but Kakashi couldn't continue, so Yuugao did so.

"We searched his apartment, and found that it was cleared of not only all of his cup ramen, but his camping equipment as well."

"We found over a dozen scent trails, leading me to suspect he used Kage Bunshin to throw us off his trail." Kakashi explained. "The only problem is, every single trail goes a certain distance, then just disappears, synonymous with the clone popping."

"Is that all?" Tsunade asked, getting visibly upset.

"No, but it was bizarre." Kakashi said. "There was one trail, one stronger than all the others that we were sure was the real Naruto. It went to Iruka's apartment, through the front door, oddly enough. We sent for Iruka, so that we didn't intrude, and when we looked inside, all we found was Naruto's plant, Fern-chan, sitting in the living room." At this point, Yuugao paused, remembering how distraught Iruka had become when they'd told him what happened, and why they were searching his home. Anko picked up.

"Once we got back on the scent trail, we followed it through the village, criss-crossing several of the clone paths, before following it up to the top of the Hokage Monument. Just to make sure he hadn't..." Here, Anko paused, remembering how bad things had been when she'd first returned, and how close she'd come to taking the plunge over the side of the monument. Asuma finally picked up the narrative.

"Tsume and Hana took their canine friends, and searched the area along the bottom of the monument, just to be sure.

"We didn't find anything to indicate that he had gone that route." Shibi said. "And from your explanation of the letter, and his disposition, I doubt he would have ever kill himself in such a selfish fashion."

"The rest of us followed the trail off into the woods behind the monument until it too suddenly went cold, just like the others."

"What are you saying, Kakashi?"

"Naruto is gone, and we have no way of tracking him." He said. "At least not the normal way. Unless Jiraiya and the Gama summons can locate him using the contract bond, then we may never find him." He would have continued, but the very stern voice of his leader spoke up.

"Tell me you have something, Jiraiya." Every eye, as one, turned to the window, to find the Toad Sage with a surprisingly forlorn look on his face.

"I'm sorry, hime, but I've got nothing." He said. "Wherever he is, it's blocking the connection. He obviously doesn't want to be found, or if what I fear has happened, they don't want him to be. The only thing I'm sure of, is that he's still alive, or the bond would have been severed, and they would have noticed that."

Seeing Tsunade grit her teeth, Jiraiya dismissed both the gathered shinobi, and the Anbu guarding her. The gathered left without a single complaint for two reasons. First, they knew that if anything happened Jiraiya would be able to protect her better than any of them could. Second, they could tell that this was a private moment, and that if Tsunade was going to break down, the only two people she'd allow to see it were Shizune and Jiraiya. As soon as the room had emptied, Jiraiya pulled Tsunade from her chair, and held her to his chest. Less than a second later, the tears came, and a second after that the sobs started. 

888

Meanwhile, Naruto had arrived in small a clearing behind the Hokage Monument. He took a moment to just enjoy the sounds and smells of the area. The gentle trickle the small waterfall and spring nearby, the smell of the surrounding forest. Then, with a look of determination, he got to work.

Because the only people aware of the grounds were dead, having formerly been the secret training place of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages, no one thought to look there. There's also the fact that it's got a seal protecting the user from being found, complete with sight, sound, scent, and chakra reading suppression; a seal created by none other than a certain redhead Uzumaki. It was where Minato used to sneak off to, to escape his paperwork, and secretly meet up with the woman who would bear his child. The result, none of the trackers sent to find him would be able to detect him there.

TBC...


	2. Reactions and Revelations

**Disclaimer: The only thing about this story I own about this story, is the laptop it was printed on, and the series of events the characters are finding themselves in- and even that last bit is suspect.**

**AN: **I will freely admit that I'm not good with expressing emotions; in real life or literarily. That being said, I did try- though I likely failed- so that's pretty much what you'll see here. By the way, please don't flame me for this. This is pretty much a throwaway plot bunny. I don't expect much to come from it, and neither should you.

Reactions and Revelations

888888

Tsunade had tried to keep it quiet, but the news spread. Many of the civilians celebrated at first, until they realized how much different the village was without the consumately upbeat Naruto.

Weeks had passed since Naruto had left the village, and people were beginning to notice just how much of an effect his presence had on the village as a whole. While it didn't directly effect much, the indirect effect could be seen and felt all over. Naruto had only been gone for a month, and the village already seemed like a different place, like a shell of its former self without him there.

It's often been said that you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and that you don't appreciate the people in our lives until they aren't there anymore. The people who knew Naruto personally were feeling his departure especially hard, many of them not realizing just how much Naruto had touched their lives, and had never thought about how much they'd miss him until he was gone.

Tsunade had been one of the ones most effected by Naruto's departure. She didn't know how it had happened, but Naruto had truly wormed his way into her heart, and losing him was hurting just as much as losing Nawaki had been. Sure, she'd been annoyed by the baachan comments, but after learning from Koharu that he'd always called Sarutobi jiji affectionately, much of the sting of being called granny had faded. Sure, she still disliked it, and would pop him for it sometimes, but most of her protest was for show. It was funny how one started to miss little things like that when they were gone.

Shizune had tried to put on a brave face, and be strong for her mentor but it was just as rough for her. She'd rememebered how she thought him loud and somewhat obnoxious when they'd met, and if she was honest, he could still be that way sometimes. Still, after what he'd done for Tsunade, and even herself...she couldn't help but become fond of him. He had become, dare she say it, like a little brother. She could remember being glad to be coming back home when Tsunade had decided to return, but now home didn't feel quite like home. What's more, is that since Naruto had left, she just didn't have it in her to admonish the Hokage about her drinking- though it should be noted that she seemed more productive when she was drunk the past few weeks.

Kakashi could be seen moping around the village, and to the shock of everyone, without his customary orange book. He was regretting his decision to concentrate on Sasuke more than Naruto and sakura, and even his decision to go away with Sasuke during the Chuunin Exams. Sure Gaara was dangerous, but so was Neji.

He knew Kage Bunshin, so he could have easily trained them both, and let Ebisu sub when he needed all of his chakra for teaching Sasuke chidori. At the very least he could have better explained to Naruto why he was having Ebisu work on the basics with him. But he hadn't, and now he wouldn't get the chance to. He had failed his sensei, he had failed Kushina and Rin, and most importantly, he'd failed Naruto. What he wouldn't give for one chance to make it up to him.

Jiraiya had been effected just as hard as Tsunade and Kakashi. Just like Kakashi, he'd brushed the boy off to go peeping, and had shirked not only his sensei duties, but his godfather duties as well. The guilt he felt ate away at him, so much so that he'd stopped doing many of the things he'd been known for. He had stopped perving around the village, much to the shock of everyone. He hadn't been to any of the men's clubs around the village, and he hadn't even looked at his Icha Icha notes- much to the horror and disappointment of many hardcore Konoha fans.

He'd even gone and reworked his training schedule, cutting out most of Naruto's Kyuubi chakra training until the final six weeks, and adding fuinjutsu to the mix. Growling, he rolled up the scroll, and tossed it against the wall. It didn't matter that he'd done it, it wasn't like he was ever going to get the chance to use it. Jiraiya collapsed onto the bed, and for the first time since Minato had died, cried himself to sleep. He'd failed; failed as a mentor, failed as a sensei, and most importantly, he'd failed as a godfather.

Naruto's departure had all but broken Iruka, leaving him feeling like he could have done more. While the fact that he'd gone wasn't really an issue, the reason why Naruto left was what bothered him. The distraught man had lost some of his spark, and his lessons suffered. His worry over Naruto's well being was legendary, almost to the point of being mother-hen like. What people had failed to realize was just how close to a little brother Naruto had become to the Chuunin. They had bonded over ramen, and the Mizuki incident had only made that bond stronger. It was especialy tough on Iruka, because he felt he should have been able to see the signs long before they'd pushed Naruto to running away. The guilt constantly ate away at him.

While Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka and Jiraiya, were the closest adults to Naruto, they weren't the only ones who felt Naruto's absence. Certain administrative staff- namely the ones on the Hokage's floor- had been down, and their performance dwindled, further pushing things back. It shouldn't have really come as a surprise. Naruto had spent much of his childhood hanging around the Sandaime's office when he could, and become something of a fixture there. That he'd done the same thing when Tsunade had taken office, meant they'd seen a lot of the blond, and grown especially fond of him.

Koharu and Homura hadn't been as close to Naruto as their teammate had, but had known him since he was a toddler. They'd grown fond of him watching his almost weekly attempts to prank Sarutobi. Not having the boisterous blond around to declare that he was going to be Hokage some day-and given what they'd seen, they were certain he would- was going to take some tough getting used to.

Others noticed the difference as well. Though they were not nearly as close to Naruto, they could still tell the obvious difference.

Anko had come right out and said that Konoha had become boring without Naruto around. And while comforting Iruka after Naruto left had given her the perfect chance to get close to him, she couldn't take advantage of that closeness because he was too distraught over the gaki. It was a win-lose situation for sure. Not only that, but the gaki had impressed her during that Chuunin Exam, and she'd found herself looking forward to seeing what became of him.

Having not known the blond very well, Kurenai hadn't been nearly as effected as some of the other- at least not directly. Indirectly, she was at a complete loss as to what to do. Her favorite pupil Hinata had practically loved the boy, and she'd been worried over how Hinata would react to the news, and with good reason. It had hurt the Jounin being unable to comfort the girl that she'd grown to care about as is she were her own family, but she'd eventually gotten better after a talk with her cousin. After that, Hinata had asked her for training, and it had almost frightened her how tenacious the girl was in her new focus.

Gai had been one of the few who didn't know him, but who had been saddened by Naruto's leaving. The boy had had such brightly burning Youthful Flames, that Lee had even declared him his eternal rival. He was sure that such a rivalry would be good for both boys, as they were both hard workers, and would push each other to greater heights than he could imagine.

The Ichirakus were also missing Naruto for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, they were worried about the young man they'd grown fond of. Naruto had been coming to their stand since Ayame had started helping out there, and both she and Teuchi had come to consider him a part of their small family- Ayame certainly considered him like a little brother. She'd been almost heartbroken at finding out that he'd finally cracked under the pressure.

There was also the fact that Naruto, for years, had been their best customer. When Teuchi had first opened the stand, his product had been good enough that they'd been able to meet the loan payments, and still scrape by. It hadn't really been until Naruto became a regular customer that they'd really started making a good profit from the stand. Sure, they were doing well, but Naruto's patronage had all but paid off the loan he'd taken to open the stand. From an emotional- and slightly financial- perspective, Teuchi and Ayame sincerely hoped that Naruto came back home, or that they could find him, and convince him to return.

Iruka wasn't the only one at the Ninja Academy who was feeling the loss of Naruto. The Konohamaru Corp. were so worried for their boss, that they'd been having schooling issues ever since they'd found out. They'd also lost their playmate, and their teacher. While they had fun playing ninja with Naruto, they'd also come to realize that the games were also a form of training. For three kids who'd looked up to Naruto, it was a real sad day when they didn't have him around anymore.

Even Ebisu found himself slightly missing the blond menace. As a tutor, it was a matter of pride how well you students were doing. When he'd found out the trio were excelling, but that it had nothing to do with his lessons, he'd questioned them to find out what they were doing. He'd been inspired by the games Naruto had used to teach them, and had modeled many of his own practical lessons for the trio into games. When the rate of improvement further increased, Ebisu found his opinion of the blond changing.

Even the hateful civilians noticed the difference. For years they had ridiculed Naruto, but only now could they see what he'd truly meant to the village. His sunny disposition had always been infectious, and one couldn't help wanting to be happy when he was around. No matter how they felt about him, his bright personality had lifted theirs through some form of odd osmosis, and his departure had effectively sucked the life from the village.

Even amongst his generation, the loss of Naruto was felt. Most of the rookies were shocked that the guy who never gave up, who never backed down had left. Ironically enough, most of the kids in the group that had always criticized Naruto's boundless energy, and childishly excited air, were now

realizing just how dull Konoha seemed with him gone. Unable to make sense of things, they'd started questioning why he left. It was only after Tsunade revealed Naruto's secret that they truly understand why he left, and none of them could have ever guessed that Naruto had been through so much.

Lee in particular took Naruto's leaving shockingly hard. In Naruto, Lee had found a truly worthy rival. While his rivalry with Neji was mostly selfish, and similar to Naruto's with Sasuke, the rivalry he had developed with Naruto was one he'd found refreshing. In Naruto's defeat of Neji, he had seen that hard work, and determination could triumph over natural talent. Naruto was a product of hard work, and in the blond, Lee had found a kindred spirit.

The person who'd taken Naruto's departure the hardest, was Hinata. After learning of his disappearance Hinata had spent a week hyperventilating, lost as to what to do. Naruto was not only her crush, he was her mentor, her inspiration, her example for overcoming the odds. If he could break from something like this, what chance did she have? If Naruto could be pushed into giving up his dream, how would she ever be able to have the strength to change her clan for the better?

Oddly enough, the voice of reason that got her back on track came from her cousin Neji. He'd told her that Naruto wouldn't want her to fall apart like this. He'd want her to suck it up, get stronger, and do something about it. Hanabi hugging her, and offering to kick him in the shin for her had also helped. After that, Hinata had recovered from her funk, and vowed that she would find him. And if she ever saw him again, she would confess her love to Naruto, and let him know that someone wanted him. She'd thrown herself into her training with a furver that had even awed Lee and Gai.

Another person who'd taken Naruto's departure surprisingly hard, was Sakura. Of her teammates, she'd always thought that Sasuke was the most important part of her life, but the past few weeks had forced her to realize just how much Naruto really meant to her. She'd

fallen into a mild depression, remembering all the times she'd hit him for things that hadn't deserved it, and wished she could take them back. For a while, she'd even blamed herself for being part of the reason he'd left. It was also about this time that Sakura began questioning whether she had feelings for her teammate.

To her shock, and at first horror, she'd realized that she did. She could honestly say that she cared deeply for Naruto, and that she might even love him. Luckily for her, and everyone else's peace of mind, once she'd begun to get over her initial depression, she realized just what she felt for Naruto. Sakura would freely admit that she loved Naruto very much, though not romantically. She come to realize that the relationship they'd developed- despite his crush on her- was almost sibling-like after everything they'd been through together.

As she sat thinking about her 'otouto', Sakura could remember the day she'd found out why naruto had run away- or at least been told why it was suspected Naruto ran away. It had all started with the Konoha Eleven- as they's started being called in the last couple weeks- gathering at Ichiraku to discuss the topic that had been on their minds for over a week. Lee's questioning of how someone so strong could crumble like that. Ino had mentioned Sasuke leaving as the cause. That maybe Naruto losing to him had a bigger effect than they'd thought.

Initially Sakura had denied it, reminding them Naruto was a lot stronger, and more skilled than he was given credit for. There was also the fact that he'd he'd lost to Sasuke plenty of times before in spars, and he'd just gotten up, called Sasuke a bastard, and vowed he would win next time. But that's when Kiba pointed out that it was a possibility, and the evidence he'd used almost scared her.

While that may have happened during spars, their fight during that mission was no spar. It was a real fight with much higher stakes, and given the promise that Naruto had made to her, it was entirely possible that he might not have taken that so easily. There was also the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were preactically best friends. Sure, they were always at each other's throats, but between them both being orphans, and their rivalry, he could tell that they'd bonded during their time as a team.

Finding themselves with more questions than answers, they'd decided as a group to go ask Tsunade. If anyone would know why Naruto left, it would be her.

Flashback

It was a determined group of teens that descended upon the Hokage's office seeking answers. Not sure why the group was there, and knowing that the Hokage was free at the moment, the secretary told the group to go on in.

Hearing her door open, Tsunade looked up from the paperwork that she just didn't have the heart or motivation to do at the moment, and thanked Kami for distraction. For the youngsters, they were shocked at the appearance of the Hokage. The woman that they'd seen for the past couple months was gone, leaving a pale shadow of her former self. Her eyes had large bags under them, her eyes looked like she'd been recently crying, and there were several sake bottles in the trash, and one on the desk.

"What can I do for you?" She asked, although she had a feeling she knew.

"What happened to Naruto?" Shikamaru asked bluntly, all traces of his normal boredom gone. "Naruto loves this village, and unlike Sasuke, I just don't see him running away."

Curious as to how they'd react, she fished out, and handed Naruto's note over to the group, letting them read it amongst themselves. The guilty looks she found on many of their faces after reading it was even more curious to her, but given what the note said, she was pretty sure she knew why. She also wasn't at all surprised by the first thing to be said after reading the note.

"Shishou, what does the Kyuubi have to do with Naruto leaving?" Sakura asked bluntly

"Are you sure you want to know?" Tsunade asked, deadly serious. "Do you consider yourselves mature enough to know? Can you look at Naruto the same way, as his friends, if you find out something that you don't like?"

When she got affirmatives from the group, she narrowed her eyes at them all, and snorted. "We shall see. Neko, I need a baby doll, and a Kyuubi plushie."

The Anbu that was standing in the corner revealed herself, and disappeard amidst a swirl of leaves. While she was waiting, Tsunade again turned her stare on the group of Genin and one Chuunin.

"I want to make one thing clear right now. This is an S-class secret, punishable by death if discussed with anyone who does not know." She inwardly smirked seeing the gossipy blonde gulp. "I also want to make it plain, that anyone who gives Naruto a hard time about what I'm about to reveal, will not like the punishment I come up with." 'If we ever get naruto back', was left unsaid, but it didn't need to be.

Neko returned a few moments later with a medium sized doll, and a large stuffed Kyuubi (which sell surprisingly well all things considered), that was about twice the doll's size. Setting the doll in the middle of her desk, she performed a single seal, and the doll was covered in smoke. When the smoke cleared, there sat a toy version of an infant Naruto. She found it particularly amusing that the girls gush over how cute he was

"Is that how Naruto really looked as a baby?" Ino asked.

"Yes, why?" Tsunade asked, eyebrow raised.

"No reason," The younger blonde replied. "He was just really adorable as a baby, I was wondering what happened." The cuff to the back of the head from Sakura gained a smirk from the Hokage.

Reaching into her desk, Tsunade withdrew an ink pot, and a sealing brush. She then began to draw a storage seal on the doll's stomach.

"Shishou, what's that?" Sakura asked.

"This is a storage seal." Tsunade replied without looking up. "It's used to seal things into for later use."

She noticed immediately that Shikamaru gasped as his brilliant mind worked out what she was about to do, and precisely what it might mean. It seemed that Shino and Neji were only a couple seconds behind him. Still for the benefit of the others, she was going to do this.

"Okay, pay attention, because I'm only going to do this once. This doll is Naruto on the day he was born; the day of the Kyuubi attack." She started, shocking many. They'd known that his birthday was in October, but they hadn't know he was born on the day of the attack. "This stuffed fox is the Kyuubi on the same day, and I am the Yondaime." She then proceeded to seal the stuffed fox into the storage seal. "Any questions?"

Ten pairs of eyes widened as they realized what whe was telling them. The Kyuubi, the Nine Tailed fox that had rampaged their village, was not dead, merely sealed inside one of their friends.

"So you're saying that that is what happened to Naruto?" Neji asked.

"Yes. While the process and the seal used were a lot more complex, this is essentially what happened to Naruto less than an hour after he was born. The Yondaime entrusted Naruto with protecting the village"

"Why?" Shikamaru asked, unable to fathom why someone would do that to a child; to a baby.

"Because Naruto was the only one who could be used." A deep voice answered. The group looked over to find Jiraiya crouching in the window sill. "The seal Minato used had to be performed on an infant, or it wouldn't have stuck. Not only that, but Naruto was the only person physically capable of containing the Kyuubi."

"But he was an infant." Ino protested.

"Naruto's mother came from a shinobi clan in Whirlpool that had extremely strong physical dispositions. They were exceptionally fit, and long lived, with the average member reaching their nineties unless they were killed prematurely. While the details are classified, Naruto was literally the only person in the entirety of the Elemental Nations who could have contained the Kyuubi inside him at the time. And he's the only person stubborn and willful enough to keep the Kyuui at bay now that it's awoken from its slumber."

"What do you mean awoken?" Lee asked.

"By my count, Naruto has used the Kyuubi's chakra four times." Jiraiya said. "Once in the Forest of Death, twice on the day of the finals, against Neji and Gaara, and once during his training with me to summon Gamabunta the first time."

"Five," Sakura interrupted. "Naruto used it on our mission in Wave too to beat a ninja that had outclassed Sasuke completely."

"Does Naruto know?" Shikamaru asked. "About the Kyuubi, I mean."

"He knows." Tsunade said. "He's known since the day you took your graduation exam, and I'm sure if it had been anyone else, the way he found out would have broken them beyond all repair."

"W-what happened?" A soft voice asked, curiosity outweighing her shyness.

After again swearing them to secrecy, Tsunade went on to tell them how Naruto found out, and how it led to his graduation. She also- deciding to see how they reacted- told them about the retreival mission that brought her back, as well as how he'd escaped from the village. She found herself amused when the Aburame boy shocked everyone by speaking, but she couldn't help agreeing that Naruto's escape tactics were superior.

Tsunade did find herself amused when Neko had broken into the conversation, revealing that Naruto had gotten plenty of practice escaping from Anbu after pranks. They were especially shocked to learn that he'd been capable of escaping them on a consistent basis by his final year in the Academy, and that only Iruka and the Sandaime had been able to find him when he did.

Flashback End

They'd all left the Hokage's office shortly after, and gone their separate ways- for the most part anyway.

Sakura couldn't help thinking back, and even more now noticed some of the little things that she'd previously ignored about the way he was treated. What she'd thought were angry glares from prank victims now seemed to take on new meaning. The looks of complete hatred weren't something one garners from Naruto's mostly harmless pranks. She also thought back to that bridge in Wave, and that evil feeling chakra. To think that Naruto had been harboring such a destructive force his entire life, and hadn't succumbed to its influence after everything he'd been through was remarkable.

Hinata had thought about everything she'd seen Naruto go through while she followed him around, and frowned. Hinata wasn't an angry, mean, or violent person by any stretch of the imagination, but at that moment, she seriously wanted to Jyuuken quite a few people where it would hurt the most. She also thought about how he found out about his burden, and how close he'd come to breaking, only to again persevere. Face a mask of determination, she'd headed home, and

demanded more intensive training from her father. She was more determined now, than ever to get stronger to find Naruto. More determined than ever to confess to him, so that he never felt alone again.

Hinata had also done something that raised a few eyebrows. After seeking- and surprisingly gaining permission from her father and tsunade- she's also temporarily moved into Naruto's apartment to feel closer to him. While he'd been very uncomfortable with idea initially, Hiashi couldn't help but admit that maybe it had been a good idea. Something about sleeping in the boy's home had inspired and motivated her immensely. She'd taken to showing up each day wearing one of the blond's orange jackets, and she'd taken to her training like a fish to water. The speed at which she'd been improving had actually brought a smile to his face.

Kiba shuddered as he realized how badly his fight with Naruto could have turned out. If Naruto had used the foxes power, he'd have been done for. Hell, from what he'd seen, if Kurenai hadn't warned him not to take Naruto lightly- no matter how bad a ninja he'd been- he probably would have lost even worse. She had been right not to, because six months of training under a Jounin of Kakashi's calibur should never be discounted, regardless of what you thought you know. After moving past that, he thought about what he might have done in Naruto's situation, and he wouldn't have lasted half as long. Making up his mind, he went looking for his mother. He wanted to get stronger, because Naruto was coming back home, and he was going to become the Hokage someday, damn it.

Shino didn't think too much on it. To him, Naruto had always been a source of untapped potential, his bugs had told him that much when they'd taken a measure of their graduating class' chakra levels. With the power of the Kyuubi at his disposal, he firmly believed that Naruto would acheive his dream of being the Hokage.

Shikamaru had all been shocked at just how badly they'd been underestimating their friend. For a Shougi player like himself, he was well aware of just how short-sighted it was to underestimate even the weakest of pieces on a board. That he'd done so with Naruto- and just how badly he'd done it- was disturbing. While he knew and accepted that Naruto had a great deal of incompetence in general, the fact that he'd been able to accomplish so much with his supposed low level of intelligence made them wonder what he'd be capable of had he been as smart or naturally gifted as some of his other classmates, or had even had someone taking care of him to teach him the basic lessons of life that they took for granted. Dear Kami, what would he have been capable if he'd have been as smart as himself or Sakura.

Chouji sat watching Shikamaru in silent contemplation. For him, nothing had really changed. Naruto was Naruto, and that was all there was to it. He did roll his eyes in exasperation when Ino remarked that aside from his bad fashion sense, Naruto was cute in his own way, and that maybe she and Sakura had underestimated Naruto's potential.

For the members of Team Gai, the revelations didn't him them nearly as hard, as they didn't really know Naruto as well. Lee found himself even more inspired by the blond, and was more sure than ever that Naruto was his ideal eternal rival. Tenten chastized herself for how much she'd seriously underestimated Naruto, especially considering how he became a ninja through a true baptism by fire. Even if she hadn't known that before, it was never to just assume anything about another shinobi.

The most effected member of their team- Neji- sat quietly watching his teammates train. Lee had proudly declared that he would get stronger so that he could return his new eternal rival home, and Tenten had agreed to help him train. Neji couldn't help mimicking the boisterous boy's desire to see Naruto return, now that he truly understood why Naruto said he'd understood his plight during their match. He remembered that sinister red chakra, as well as the foxhead image he'd seen, and briefly wondered what might have happened had Naruto not been fully in control.

Shaking his head of that, Neji again thought about Naruto's words to him afterward. In point of fact, Naruto actually had it much worse being alone with the animosity of his fellow citizens, whereas he at least had family to help deal with his problem. Neji wanted to see Naruto return for many reasons, the least of which was his cousin's desire to confess- which he had to admit, he was curious to see. Mostly, he wanted to see Naruto return and become Hokage. He wanted Naruto to return, and to see if he would indeed help change their clan like he'd said he would.

888

Meanwhile, Naruto was making use of the super cool, new training trick he'd figured out the week before to help get the Rasengan to work with just one hand. Damn that jutsu was hard, but he knew he'd have to get it with one hand if he was going to beat Sasuke next time. He couldn't help but grin at the way he'd accidentally figured out the true secret of Kage Bunshin.

He'd been working on making a Rasengan with one hand, and decided that many heads were better than one; although considering that all of the heads were identical, his logic might have been a bit flawed. He'd created a few dozen clones, and told them that if they figured something out, to show the others. After about a half hour, one of the clones had a breakthrough, and had rushed to the original to show him. Unfortunately, regardless of the fact that he'd figured something out, but didn't explain it all that well.

In a bit of frustration, Naruto smacked the clone in the head, dispelling him. As he was about to chastise himself for killing the clone before it had told him what it had learned, he realised that he knew what the clone had done.

"I know what he did." Naruto said. "How do I know?" Several minutes of several dozen Naruto's thinking on the matter later, one finally had a relevant thought.

"Do we learn what another Naruto learns when he goes away?" It asked.

"Quick, someone think something, and dispel." Naruto ordered. A clone did so, thinking 'ramen is awesome'.

The mulitple cries of hell yeah, both to the statement and the new insight, signalled a new era of training for the blond.

8888

One more chapter to go.


End file.
